No. 1 Star: Steve Downie, Tampa Bay Lightning
Having won their final three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins to advance to Round 2, the Lightning made it four in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their series. Playing just 11:46, Downie increased his team-high point total to nine with a goal and an assist as a fortunate bounce off Scott Hannan's tied the game at two with 3:43 left in the second period.
No. 2 Star: Benn Ferriero, San Jose Sharks
On his 24th birthday and playing in his first NHL playoff game, Ferriero was the hero as his goal 7:03 into overtime gave the Sharks a 2-1 win and 1-0 series lead over the Detroit Red Wings:
No. 3 Star: Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Howard did he all he could to earn the win for Detroit stopping 44 shots, including six of the seven he faced in overtime.
Honorable mention: Steven Stamkos netted the winner for Tampa Bay on the power play with 32 seconds remaining in the second period ... Sean Bergenheim opened the scoring with his fourth goal in five games ... Joe Pavelski delivered another big time goal for the Sharks when he forced overtime with a power play tally with 9:38 left in regulation ... San Jose has won all four of their overtime games in the playoffs ... Jason Demers led all players with five blocked shots ... A day after he turned 41, Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom scored his 51st career playoff goal ... The CSN Bay Area cameras caught the "Ghetto Shark" in the stands at HP Pavilion in this fantastic outfit:
Did you know? The Sharks have won 11 in a row & are 15-1 when Joe Pavelski scores in the playoffs.
Dishonorable mention: Washington went 0-for-5 on the power play ... Simon Gagne had to leave the game after hitting his head on the ice after a hit from Hannan. No diagnosis has been made yet, but Gagne was alert and talking in the locker room according to Lightning GM Steve Yzerman ... Todd Bertuzzi's boarding penalty put San Jose on the power play that led to Pavelski's tying goal.
Conn Smythe Watch: 1. Danny Briere, Philadelphia Flyers, 2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; 3. Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks; 4. Michal Neuvirth, Washington Capitals; 5. Daniel Sedin,Vancouver Canucks; 6. Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning; 7. Mike Fisher, Nashville Predators; 8. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins; 9. Dwayne Roloson, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers.